Parking pressures from Louth train station ‘spilling over' onto adjacent streets, meeting hears

Parking pressures at Dundalk train station are now having an impact on adjacent streets, including the Ardee Road, with Louth councillors warning of all day parking that is leading to traffic congestion. The issue was raised at the monthly meeting of Louth County Council, where Cllr Shane McGuinness said commuters were increasingly parking along the road beside Dundalk Garda Station. 'There is a serious parking issue there right beside the school. We need to look at extending the pay parking here,' he said. Cllr Ciaran Fisher supported the call, noting that new signs and double yellow lines had recently been installed around the garda station area. However, he said motorists continue to park where they should not, including on the second lane of the roundabout. 'There are cars constantly parked on the second lane of the roundabout, which is one of the main causes of the traffic being backed up coming from the train station, and the other direction from Anne Street,' he said. Cllr Fisher said the location should form part of the upcoming pay parking review and argued that greater enforcement was needed. Read more Louth town 'beginning to look like Blackpool' due to 'tacky, fluorescent' shop signs, council warned He also sought an update on plans for the street, saying he understood some line markings outside Dundalk Grammar School were due to be removed to create additional parking spaces. Meanwhile, Cllr McGuinness highlighted what he described as an urgent need for a pedestrian crossing at Ardee Terrace on the Ardee Road, where he said pedestrians experience difficulties crossing. He also called for a pedestrian crossing at Fave View on the Blackrock Road. 'Children are trying to cross the road there, and the area has become so busy with cars and buses in the morning,' he said. Responding, David Hanratty, Director of Service with Louth County Council, said the requests for pedestrian crossings would be referred to the council's road safety engineer. He added that the pay parking review would be overseen by the local authority's finance section. A county-wide review of pay parking is expected to begin before the end of the year. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme